The Most In-Depth Manual Ever Created in History on How to Write Ads, Sales Letters and News Releases,

including Top-Secret Psychological Insights Revealing How To Grab, Hold, and Shake Money out of People---

---with just YOUR WORDS!

Introduction: The True Confession of a Hypnotic Writer SECTION ONE: Hypnotic Sales Letters and the Power of Your Mind to Make Money

Ch. 1: How to Write Hypnotic Letters that Make People Follow Your Commands Chapter 2: The Unusual Mindset of a Hypnotic Writer Chapter 3: “Give me 5 minutes and I’ll prove YOU can write Hypnotic Letters, too!” Ch. 4: “They Laughed When I Said I Discovered the Secret to Hypnotic Writing, But When I Showed Them This Secret Check-List --- !” Chapter 5: How to Analyze Your Sales Letters With the 21 Points Chapter 6: How to Write Headlines -- In Under 15 Seconds! Chapter 7: How Talking Can Help Your Writing Ch. 8: Embedded Hypnotic Commands That Make People Act Assignment Resources

SECTION TWO: Hypnotic News Releases and the Power of the Media to Make You Rich

Chapter 9: How to Get Rich and Famous With One Sheet of Paper and a Mermaid Chapter 10: A Reporter’s Tip and an Outrageous Insight Chapter 11: Harry Reichenbach’s Publicity Secret and the Loop-Hole in People’s Minds Chapter 12: Hidden Selling: The Ultimate Secret to Controlling the Public Mind Chapter 13: How Watching TV Can Get You a Million Dollars in Free Publicity Chapter 14: The Structure of a Hypnotic News Release Chapter 15: More Examples of Hypnotic News Releases You Can Model Chapter 16: How to Send Out Your News Assignment Resources

SECTION THREE: HYPNOTIC ADS AND EGO-LESS SELLING

Chapter 17: The Greatest Advertising Secret Ever Revealed! Chapter 18: Hypnotic Persuasion: How to Make People Do Your Bidding

Chapter 19: What People Want, Why They Buy, and What Turns Them Off Chapter 20: An Amazing Proven New Ad Writing Formula Chapter 21: An Even Easier Way to Write Hypnotic Ads Chapter 22: The One Proven Ad Format That Always Works Chapter 23: What My Girlfriend Taught Me about The Hypnotic Power of Repetition Chapter 24: How to Test Your Ads -- Without Paying a Dime Assignment Resources Afterword Bonus Chapter 25: The Easiest Way to Write Anything Bonus Chapter 26: How a Little Italian Can Make You Rich

About the Author BONUS CHAPTERS BY GUESTS

Bonus: Hypnotic Writing

Introduction: The True Confession of a Hypnotic Writer Congratulations! By investing in this e-book on "Advanced Hypnotic Writing," you've made the first step in not only becoming a copywriter of nuclear power, but possibly also becoming a hired writer who creates hypnotic sales letters, ads, and news releases for others---at big pay! Is this exciting or what? BUT FIRST, LET ME TELL YOU A SECRET... Before we get into the meat of this book, I want to tell you something few people know. My first e-book, "Hypnotic Writing"---the course that went online early in the year 2000 and stunned me and everyone else with all the sales for it---was actually written some ten years ago. It was originally a spiral-bound manuscript that I sold in the back of the room when I gave talks and seminars. It was a nice money-maker for me. And countless people read it, used the secrets revealed in it, and went on to write sales letters and even books. I've always been proud of it. But I never published the book or ever intended to. Over the years the president of Aesop.com, Mark Joyner, politely and persistently kept urging me to give him something, anything, to turn into an e-book to sell online.

I had never heard of Mark before. And I didn't believe an e-book of any shape, size, or form would sell. Ever. So much for how smart I am. Finally I sent Mark the text file for "Hypnotic Writing." He put it online, marketed it, and the results rocked my world in the most delicious way. Literally overnight there were HUNDREDS of orders. In the first month alone I think I made about $9,000----that's just MY share of the take---and that was all passive income! And virtually every sale was due to one powerful sales letter! (You can see it at http://www.hypnoticwriting.com.) Orders still come in for that book, and I'm still excited about it. The thing is, that book was written, as I said, some ten years ago. Since then I've discovered many tricks and tips, resources and ideas, to help myself or anyone else learn how to write sales letters, ads, and news releases that are truly hypnotic. And that's what THIS material is all about. It's part two of my first book. It's the advanced course. And it's what you are now reading! Some of what you will learn in these lessons include--- * How to write headlines in under 15 seconds * The number one secret for writing sales letters that sell * The Harry Reichenbach secret for getting in the news * The Kenneth Goode method for writing ads that get results * The top secret check-list used to pre-test sales letters * The 16 desires that motivate people--and how to use them * How to test your ads---before you run them * The 8 things people will always do * The 26 things people will always want * What books to read and what sites to see for more help * And much more! What you are now reading contains many of the most closely guarded secrets for writing words that glue people to the page. This material covers the gap over the last ten years. And I guarantee you're going to love all of it! Now before we jump into the meat of the three sections of this book, let me explain what I see in your future... HOW YOU CAN MAKE MONEY WITH THESE LESSONS Here's how the exciting material you'll learn in these lessons can help you make a ton of money: Copywriters can make anywhere from $5,000 to $50,000 (and up!) for writing a single sales letter! Now stop and think about this.

Not only are you going to become a "Hypnotic Writer" by taking this course, but you will also become a highly skilled "Hypnotic Copywriter"-----a smoking gun for hire! You will soon be able to write sales letters for yourself, but maybe even more importantly, you will soon be able to charge hefty fees to write sales letters for others! Think of THAT! And you'll also learn how to write news releases that grab editors, and after that you'll learn how to write ads that get results and make money! Whew! Ready to get started?

SECTION ONE: Hypnotic Sales Letters and the Power of Your Mind to Make Money

"Smart as any dog, human beings tend keenly to attune their ears--- and their attention---only to that which selfishly concerns them." -- Kennethe Goode, "Ten Points for Advertisers," 1940

Ch. 1: How to Write Hypnotic Sales Letters that Make People Easily Follow Your Commands and Do What YOU Want! In this first section you will learn the psychological tricks to use in your sales letters (and any writing, for that matter) that make people take the action you want. This is powerful stuff and shouldn't be shared with just anybody. I mean this in the most sincere way. The power to change behavior through the written word is awesome. Use it with wisdom. In the following chapters I'll also explain why some sales letters achieve record-breaking responses (most bomb) and teach you how to write letters that are nearly impossible to ignore. On top of all that, I'll also reveal the top-secret checklist I and a few other copywriters use to pre-test our letters. This alone is worth GOLD. It's a checklist virtually no one knows about. I'm actually a little reluctant to share this tool with you, as it's been part of my secret bag of tricks for a long time. But have no worry, you'll get the entire checklist in this very lesson! Are you drooling to get started?

THE BIG SECRET There are actually two big secrets to writing hypnotic sales letters. Both are books. And both are out of print. Now don't think I'm cruel because I'll mention two great books and both are out of print. Thanks to the net, I've found nearly every book I've ever wanted. So keep looking. But I also have good news for you concerning these books... BOOK ONE:

The first is "The Robert Collier Letter Book." This one changed my life. It's the secret reference book of many of the world's top copywriters. It taught me more about understanding people than any other single work. And since Collier was a genius at writing virtually anything, the book is a classic by a man able to reveal how he accomplished all he did. In short, get this book. The bad news is the book has been out of print since the 1950s. You might search for a copy at . And from time to time various copywriters bring the book back into print through a limited edition run. So keep your eyes and ears open for it. (Also see the resources section at the end of this section for a lead on someone who may still be selling the Collier book.) The good news is that I'll give you the essence of the Collier book in this lesson. BOOK TWO: The second book is not as well known as the first. It's "How to Write Letters that Sell" by Christian Godefroy and Dominique Glocheux. It was published in 1994 in England. I checked on it before writing this lesson and, to my sad surprise, the book is now out of print, too. Again, look for it at . And again, I'll give you the essence of that book in these lessons, too. MORE GOOD NEWS! There are plenty of other good books out there, still in print, to help you. * Read anything by John Caples, for example. (We'll visit him in a later lesson.) * And read anything by Dan Kennedy. (See the end of this section for a recommended book by him.) * Also read anything by Joe Sugarman. And at least two of my own books contain material on writing sales letters: "The Seven Lost Secrets of Success" and "The AMA Complete Guide to Small Business Advertising." You can buy any of those in-print books at http://www.amazon.com. And let's not forget my best-selling e-book, "Hypnotic Writing," which you should already have. It's not required reading but it's certainly recommended reading. Get it at http://www.HypnoticWriting.com . As you'll see later, reading these classic books can make the job of writing hypnotic sales letters far far FAR easier. In many cases all you have to do is follow what the authors tell you to do. It's a paint-by-the-numbers approach to writing. But more than that, the books will give you insights into how to THINK as a hypnotic copywriter. And that's part of what I want to convey to you in this chapter. We’ll develop this idea in the next chapter. The fun is only beginning, my friend! A "Hypnotic Writer" believes he or she can influence people with written words alone. If you have that belief, you have power. There's no reason not to believe words have power. Words start and end wars. Words start and end romances. Words start and end sales. Words rule. But you also need something else... I've rarely taken on a project I didn't believe in. When I am convinced something will help people, my enthusiasm for my product or service gives me power. And that power helps me write in a hypnotic way.

Here's proof: In my first e-book, "Hypnotic Writing," I offer an example of a sales letter I wrote many, many years ago---maybe even 15 years ago. It's a letter for a software program called Thoughtline. If you have my e-book, you can look in it to see that letter. But you don't need the letter in front of you to get my point here. Let me explain: That sales letter is so powerful, I STILL get orders for Thoughtline because of it. People actually read my "Hypnotic Writing" ebook, read the sales letter in it, and try to order the software described. And here's the truly stunning fact: Ch. 2: The Unusual Mindset of a Hypnotic Writer I haven't sold Thoughtline in maybe ten years. Thoughtline is an old DOS program. It's been out of print for years. So there isn't even anything in existence to buy! Yet countless people continue to read my sales letter for Thoughtline and continue to try to buy it!! They still send me checks! Now THAT is the power of a sales letter! It can get you so eager to buy, you don't even stop to see if the product is still in existence! Just yesterday I received an email from a person who complained that he read my sales letter but couldn't find Thoughtline online. I had to remind him that the program is out of print, and my sales letter is in my ebook just as an example of a winning sales letter. He was upset. He still wanted to buy the software! Why? What is the mysterious key ingredient that makes people want to buy even when the item is no longer around? I call it sincerity. I've found that when I truly believe in a product or service, and I'm not afraid to show my enthusiasm for it, then readers will "catch my fire" and want what I'm selling. I still have to write well, of course, and engagingly. But my spirit will infect them. My desire will motivate them. And when you have that sincere belief in your product or service, it ALONE goes a long way in hypnotizing people. So the first thing you must have is a belief in what you are trying to sell. And the next thing you must have is the belief that you can sell it through a sales letter. With that mindset, you are ready to begin hypnotizing readers.

So let’s move on to the next chapter... Ch. 3: “Give me 5 minutes and I’ll prove YOU can write hypnotic sales letters, too!” One of the easiest ways to write a hypnotic sales letter is to understand the following passages by Robert Collier, from his famous letter book: "Hundreds of books have doubtless been written about the fine art of fishing, but the whole idea is contained in that one sentence: 'What bait will they bite on?' Thousands of articles have been written about the way to use letters to bring you what you want, but the meat of them all can be compressed into two sentences: 'What is the bait that will tempt your reader? How can you tie up that thing you have to offer with that bait?' "For the ultimate purpose of every business letter simmers down to this: "The reader of this letter wants certain things. The desire for them is, consciously or unconsciously, the dominant idea in his mind all the time. "You want him to do a certain definite thing for you. How can you tie this up to the thing he wants, in such a way that the doing of it will bring him a step nearer to his goal?" You might want to re-read the above paragraphs to be sure you install them in your mind. What Collier stresses again and again throughout his book is the need to focus on your READER. Think of what he or she wants and find a way to tie your own desires to the reader's self-interest. Do that and you can get rich. But HOW do you do that? HOW YOUR MIND THINKS What you have to do is appeal to people's emotions. Find out what moves them, and push those buttons. You'll learn more about those buttons throughout these lessons. For now, just keep reminding yourself that people buy for emotional reasons, and rationalize their buying with logical reasons. One proven way to convey emotion is through story. Collier wrote about the need to paint pictures in the minds of readers to involve them emotionally in your sales letters. Here's how he put it: "The mind thinks in pictures, you know. One good illustration is worth a thousand words. But one clear picture built up in the reader's mind by your words is worth a thousand drawings, for the reader colors that picture with his own imagination, which is more potent than all the brushes of all the world's artists." Are you beginning to understand the importance of emotion, story, and sincerity in writing hypnotic sales letters? Let's deepen our exploration... "GIVE ME FIVE DAYS AND --- !" One way to learn how to write hypnotic sales letters is by studying winning sales letters. This is one reason why I began this book by urging you to read certain books. Those books have

model letters, headlines, even sentences, that you can adapt for your own uses. Collier even mentions this fact in his letter book. He says the following... "The "Give me 5 minutes" approach, for instance... You can use it to sell relief for Athlete's Foot, as in--- "Give me 5 days, and I'll give you relief from itching feet." Or a new dance step---"Give me 15 minutes and I'll give you the secret of dancing to the new slow-time music." Or a new car---"Give me 5 minutes and I'll give you a new sensation in riding comfort.'" Try it for yourself. Pick something you want to write a sales letter for. Let's say it's an insurance service. Your headline or key concept might be-- "Give me 5 minutes and I'll show you the best way to save on your insurance." When I taught a class on how to write your own book, one of my headlines began--- "Give me six days and I'll show you how to write your very own book." As you can imagine, you can use this one single headline as a way to generate headlines of your own. Another famous headline that gets rephrased a lot is this one by John Caples, which first ran in 1925--- "They Laughed When I Sat Down At The Piano--But When I Started To Play!" Every month I see some new variation of this one proven headline. In a recent magic magazine I even saw, "They laughed when I said I was going to be a magician---until they saw my first check!" The whole idea behind this secret is to learn how to adapt proven headlines and sales concepts to your own sales letters. Again, find and read the above mentioned books to discover headlines and sales letters that have worked before. Then practice adapting them to your own needs. The point here is that you need to know WHAT you are selling, and WHY someone should be interested in buying it from you. Looking at old sales letters can help stimulate your creative juices as well as help you hone in on what it is you want to sell. It will also help you generate a hypnotic headline which, as you'll soon see, is a colossal part of what makes---or breaks---a sales letter. MORE TESTED HEADLINES Looking at tested, proven headlines can also inspire you. Here are a few for you to chew on. See if you can determine what makes them work: "Check the kind of body YOU want" "Is YOUR home picture-poor?" "How a 'Fool Stunt' made me a star salesman" "How I improved my memory in one evening" "Why some foods "Explode" in your stomach" "When Doctors "Feel Rotten" this is what they do" "Girls...Want quick curls?" "Play guitar in seven days or money back" "They thought I was crazy to ship LIVE MARINE LOBSTERS as far as 1,800 miles from the ocean" "Answer these questions and work out the date of your own death." You'll notice most successful headlines "pull" people into the sales letter. They generate curiosity, as in the the one about why some foods explode in your stomach.

Or they ask you a question. "Do you make these mistakes in English?" was a headline so intriguing it ran unchanged for FORTY YEARS! Or they urge you to answer their questions (as in the headline about working out the date of your own death). The key point is this: A headline has to "call out" your key audience (such as "Girls...") and at the same time promise them a benefit that intrigues them. Do that and you're well on the way to starting a sales letter that is truly hypnotic. You'll learn more about how to write headlines as you go through the other lessons in this course, and read the extra bonus articles by such great copywriters as Joe Sugarman and David Garfinkel. For now, let's get into a specific formula to help you write your own hypnotic sales letters. Ch. 4: “THEY LAUGHED WHEN I SAID I DISCOVERED THE SECRET TO HYPNOTIC WRITING, BUT WHEN I SHOWED THEM THIS SECRET CHECK-LIST --- !” Brace yourself. I’m about to reveal some of the greatest material ever created on how to write sales letters that get results. Inside the book "How to Write Letters that Sell" by Christian Godefroy and Dominique Glocheux is a sales letter check-list. I think it's fantastic. I've used it to test my own sales letters. What I do is run down the list and check my letter against what Godefroy and Glocheux say should be in a successful sales letter. It's very eye-opening. It reminds me to cover every point and every angle so my sales letters get the highest responses possible. What I'm going to do here is go through that check-list and use every one of their 21 points as a kick-off place to talk about how to write hypnotic sales letters. In this way you will end up with their check-list, as well as my own guidance on how to create hypnotic sales letters. This is VERY valuable, as I hope you can imagine. So please don't share this with anyone else! What you are about to learn are the little-known trade secrets of copywriting. With them, you have the power to create written persuasion beyond all comprehension. Let's get started! THE 21 SECRETS 1. Headline This should come as no surprise to you or anyone else. A good headline can make or destroy sales. You learned a trick for writing headlines above. (I could easily have titled this section, "Give me 5 minutes and I'll show you how to write hypnotic headlines.") The point here is this: If your headline conveys a benefit of interest to your key audience, then your letter has a massive chance of being read. (Not acted upon, just read.) But use a weak headline and your letter dies. One way to write headlines is to simply brainstorm them. Sit down and write 25 headlines. By doing so, you will unearth one that could be the zinger that works. (Stay tuned! Later you'll learn how to generate headlines---in under 15 seconds!) 2. Headline design Fancy type won't get you more readers. Use as simple a design as possible. Times-Roman is the tried and true font of all time. Handwriting font could work. Anything that is readable could work. Just don't get artsy. Simple and direct is best. Again, follow the pros. Use what famous copywriters use to write their sales letters: Simple headline design. 3. Promise/Curiosity If the headline creates curiosity while promising a benefit, you have a winner. Put some sizzle in that headline. Note how the "Five day..." approach promises a benefit. Every good headline should arouse curiosity while promising something the reader wants. (Again, think of your reader.) 4. Letterhead/Logo

Your letterhead or logo should fit the product or service. If you look un-professional, you won't be taken seriously. To put more emphasis on your headline, you can move your letterhead to the bottom of the last page of your sales letter. But you should have a letterhead, as it helps convey trust in you and your offer. 5. Opening paragraph Make it captivating. I like to begin with questions. Or a story. Anything to snare readers. Keep in mind that people are busy. They don't at all care about you. Your letter has to trip them. It has to interrupt them. A great headline and a great opening line can grab their attention. I spend a LOT of time on the openings of my letters. How long? Maybe DAYS. 6. Offer What are you selling? What's the deal? Once you have the attention of your reader, you have to keep it. Your reader will want to know right away---almost instantly---what your offer is. Tell him. 7. Advantages Why buy? If your reader is still with you, they will want to know the advantages of having your product or service. This is a good place to paint a story, as Collier suggested. Get your reader FEELING what it would be like to have or do what you suggest. Give them emotional and logical reasons to buy whatever it is you are selling. Pile on the advantages. 8. Positive language Be enthusiastic. Up-beat. Show your excitement. This is the secret trick of John Caples, myself, and other copywriters. We pump ourselves up. We get excited. And then we show that excitement in our letters through enthusiasm for what we are selling. Again, this only works if you sincerely believe in what you are offering. If you don't believe in your offer, your reader will smell a rat. Get readers saying YES through questions that make them agree with you. Bring good news. 9. Emphasis on important passages Attract attention to important phrases or paragraphs by using sub-headlines throughout your letter. This breaks up your letter to make it easier to read. You might also underline key passages. Or use caps sparingly. Sometimes handwriting in the margin of your letters can emphasize important sections. 10. Egometer Focus on your READER. Need I say more? Throughout these lessons you will constantly hear me urging you to focus on your reader. The more you can use the magic word "You," the more your reader will like it. A could test is to count the number of times you use the word "you" in your sales letter. The more "you's," the better. (Notice how many times I used the word "you" in just this paragraph? It helps involve you in my writing and makes you feel like I am writing to you and only YOU.) Appeal to your reader's ego! 11. Readability Short sentences and simple words will help make your letter hypnotic. You're writing for people who want things simple. Don't confuse them or try to impress them. Be conversational. 12. Structure Your letter should look inviting. If you have long paragraphs of dense type, you won't look inviting. Only some of your readers will read your letter word-for-word. Others will skim it. Structure your letter to please both. 13. Personal aspect Your letter should read as if you wrote it ONLY for me. One smart way to write a sales letter IS to write it to just one person. Write it to a friend. Later, take out your friend's name. You'll have a personal letter that should at least feel like it was written for whoever picked it up. Don't be afraid to show your own personality, either. Tell me why YOU love your product or service in a way that interests me and makes me want it, too. 14. Interest boosters These are everything from engaging sub-headlines to incomplete sentences to questions to story

beginnings. In other words, throughout your letter there should be interest boosters plugged in to keep people reading. Do you know what I mean? While you are reading this very paragraph, I snuck in an interest booster with the question, "Do you know what I mean?" What you are doing is finding ways to keep people focused and interested in every word of your sales letter. Make sense? 15. Page breaks I like to break paragraphs to force people to keep reading. I might get near the end of a page and write something like, "And now for the biggest..." and leave it at that. The reader then HAS to turn the page over to finish the sentence. People don't like unfinished anything. They'll turn the page over. 16. Proof Back up your claims with testimonials and a strong guarantee. Writing sales letters is making pleas to strangers. You need to convince them that you are legit. Do that with quotes from previous customers. And add to it with a powerful guarantee. Make your guarantee even MORE powerful by putting all the risk on you. Instead of "Guaranteed for 30 days" say "Guaranteed for life!" If you believe in your product or service, why wouldn't you give a strong guarantee? Show confidence in your offer. 17. Conclusion I like to put a spell on readers. I sometimes end my letters with a question, such as: "Will this program work for you? You'll never know unless you reply right now, before it's too late." The idea here is to leave people ready to ACT. And TELL THEM WHAT TO DO. Say "CALL ME" if you want them to call you. 18. Gift Your reader is selfish. He or she won't act easily. You have to offer an ethical bribe to encourage action. Just yesterday I received a sales letter about a new vitamin supplement. Along with the offer, they said they would send me a free work-out radio if I replied within ten days. That "free" radio cast a hypnotic spell on me. It's called the "psychology of the second interest." It means people will often do what you want in order to get the free thing you are offering. It works. Use it. 19. PS I've renamed "PS" to mean "Powerful statement." It's your opportunity to restate your key point or main offer. Many readers will jump to the PS just to see your summation. Use the PS to your advantage. 20 . Number of lines per paragraph Your paragraphs should be very short, less than 6 lines each. Again, people are busy and want things quick and simple. Even if you are writing to CEO's, your letter should be breezy. 21. Dynamism The overall look and feel of your sales letter needs to be of excitement. Your letter should move, flow, run, sprint. There should be a sense of urgency. A sense of "WOW!" If you have a product YOU believe in, that dynamism should be there naturally. There you have it! Those 21 key points can literally transform your sales letters from so-so to hypnotic. Read over the check-list. Memorize them. Use them. It's one of your most powerful tools in writing sales letters that are hypnotic. Now let’s take a closer look at how to use the formula... Ch. 5: How to Analyze Your Sales Letters with the 21 Points A good way to learn the 21 points is by reading any sales letter with them in mind. See if you can spot each of the 21 concepts in the letter. For example, read the sales letter at this site http://www.killertactics.com/ (or read any sales letter, for that matter) and ask yourself why it works. If the letter makes you want to buy, ask yourself WHY. What was said in the letter to encourage you to buy?

And if you don't feel like buying after reading the letter, ask yourself WHY. What was missing in the letter? And note whether it's important that you read every word of the letter or not. One day I received a giant 45-page sales letter. That's right, forty-five pages long! I didn't read every word of those 45 pages, but I ordered the product nonetheless. Why? Because by skimming the letter I was able to get a sense of what was being sold. And because the PS told me what the offer was, as well as the price. And because the 45 pages suggested that the product must be fantastic if someone took the time to write that much about it. Again, study sales letters. Let them be your home work and training ground. See if they hit on all 21 concepts. INSIDE A KILLER SALES LETTER Let's take a look at yet another sales letter and see what makes it tick. Go to http://www.mrfire.com/articles/0003.html and print out and read the sales letter there. It's one I wrote years ago that still makes people eager to buy... Got it in front of you? Note how powerful the headline is. "New" and "Breakthrough" are key words in winning headlines. The lines below the main headline are also headlines. What I'm doing here is casting a spell on the reader, doing my darnest to seduce them into reading the next line, and then the next line, of the sales letter. Note the strong opening line. "I'm sick of it!" is pure emotion. It's also curious. It makes you wonder what I'm sick of. It makes you want to know more. And note that the letter quickly tells you what this whole letter is about: About my being fed up with marketing gurus who sell air, and about how I found something that truly works. See how I'm building a foundation for my sales pitch? See how I'm creating rapport with the reader? I'm telling him or her that I, too, have been ripped off by these greedy SOB's. And I'm suggesting that I'm not one of them, so you can trust me. Also note how the letter is broken up into small paragraphs, making it readable, and that it contains many sub-headlines, keeping readers glued to my words and always wondering, "What's next?" Note that I use bulleted points, too. And note that when I start telling you what you will get from me, I describe it in terms of what YOU GET, not in terms of what I want to sell. For example, when I say "Discover the tricks of creating Hypnotic Writing," I also quickly add, "You'll learn how to write letters, articles and books with my breakthrough system." The first statement is the feature. The second is the benefit. You'll see that I do that for each item listed.

And what do you notice about the price? Before I tell the price in the letter, I draw a comparison. I tell you the entire collection should sell for $1,000. This sets up a limit in your mind. It makes you feel the course is REALLY priceless. And then, when I tell you what I'm selling the course for, the lower price seems reasonable and even a deal. Had I told you that price right up front, you might think it too high. But after creating a comparison, the price seems right and low. Note, too, the use of "PS"'s at the end of the letter. And ask yourself, "Does this letter make me want to buy the product? If so, why? If not, why not?" (Note: Don't try to order the product. I quit selling it long ago because it was such a hassle for me as a one-man show to handle all the orders. Sometimes a sales letter can work TOO well!) Now use the 21 key points you learned earlier and see if my sales letter uses them all. LENGTH? How long should your sales letter be? This question has been wrestled with for more than a century. Truth is, people will read any amount of writing, AS LONG as it's INTERESTING to THEM! People read 36-page sales letters and 700-page books. As long as the writing holds their attention, they'll keep reading. I wrote a 32-page "bookalog" for Nightingale-Conant to sell my audio program, "The Power of Outrageous Marketing!" Did everyone read it? No. Did everyone who read it, read every word of it? No. Yet the bookalog pulled a 4% response---considered excellent in direct mail---and Nightingale-Conant elected to keep sending the long letter out. Why? Because it works! Your rule of thumb is this: Say what you have to say to make the sale---and then shut up! If you're selling chewing gum, you may only need a postcard to sell someone on buying your brand. If you're selling a new programming software, you may need several pages to convince someone of what you have and why they should buy it. Again, whatever you write better be hypnotic. Ch. 6: HOW TO WRITE HEADLINES--IN UNDER 15 SECONDS! Since headlines are so important in sales letters (and in ads, as you'll see in lesson three), I'll offer a little more help here on how to write them.

You might use the following list of magic words as triggers. Read them and see how they stimulate you to think of riveting headlines. “Announcing, astonishing, at last, exciting, exclusive, fantastic, fascinating, first, free, guaranteed, incredible, initial, improved, love, limited offer, powerful, phenomenal, revealing, revolutionary, special, successful, super, time-sensitive, unique, urgent, wonderful, you, breakthrough, introducing, new, and how-to.” Here's how it works: Review the list. Then let your mind conjure up headlines. It's as simple as free-associating with the above list of words in mind. For example, to sell this very course you are reading now, I might write something along the lines of.... "Announcing Breakthrough New Course Guaranteed to Reveal How to Write Hypnotically!" As you can see, I got most of the words in my headline directly from the list above. And I did it in under 15 seconds. Try it for yourself right now. Pick something you want to write a headline for. Then review the list and let your mind bring you a headline. Just pull out words and weave them together. Jot them down. You'll surprise yourself with the headlines you come up with. And it's fun, too! Ch. 7: How talking can help your writing I've been thinking about what I've shared with you here so far, and I believe I need to tell you one more secret. This tip is one of my own pet tricks. It's how I write some of my best sales letters. Here's how it works: The first thing I do when I have a sales letter to write is be sure I know the product or service as intimately as I can. I read about it, use it, wear it, eat it, smell it, and sleep with it. I make it a part of me. This step could take a day or a week, depending on what I have to learn. If you already know your product or service, it may not take any time at all. The next thing I do, after I'm sure I know the item I want to sell, is talk to someone about it. It's usually best to talk to someone who is in your target market, someone who would ultimately want or need your item if they knew enough about it. But that isn't really necessary. The idea is to talk to someone, anyone, in a way to see if you can get them interested in your product or service. I talk to that person and pay attention to what they ask me, as well as to what I tell them. Conversation seems to release my creativity. As I talk to the person about my item for sale, I listen to my own sales pitch. A particular phrase, or a certain way of explaining my item, could be perfect for my sales letter. Some copywriters call a friend on the phone and talk to that person about the product or service they want to sell. They tape the entire conversation. Later, they replay it to locate the best lines for selling someone. In other words, you may find a great sales letter angle by talking to someone about what you want to write about. Either record your conversation or simply pay attention to it.

Whenever I've been stuck on how to write a sales letter, I've usually gone back to the basic idea of "talking it out" with someone. From there, my creative juices flow. The second best way to get my creative juices to roll again is by reading winning sales letters. Again, get the books mentioned earlier, and see the resources section at the end of each of these sections for leads on where to find more sales letters to study. Ch. 8: Embedded Hypnotic Commands that Make People Act

Let's talk about the power of words and sentences. To start this section, let me quote from the sales letter Mark Joyner used to get people to enroll in my first e-class on Hypnotic Writing:

"You don’t know it yet, but in the next 5 minutes you are going to learn two things that will enable you to command someone to do something – anything -- and that person will do it without question. What’s more, they’ll think it was their idea, not yours. Read these questions carefully. Can you shut the door? Is the phone ringing? Do you have the remote? Did you know you needed this? What do these questions have in common? These innocent sounding questions are all commands disguised as simple yes or no questions. Typically, people will respond by acting as if you had just asked them to shut the door, answer the phone, hand you the remote, etc., without ever questioning it. What does this mean to you? It means that there are ways of giving commands to people without their conscious awareness that they have received a command. Typically, they will obey your command as if they had received it directly, but without any resistance whatsoever. Now, I can almost hear you thinking, “How else can I use this strategy to get others to do my bidding?” There are countless ways if you want to learn more. Remember the old adage: Be careful what you ask for, you just might get it! With the art of persuasion, that adage takes on a whole new meaning. Just imagine -- if you wanted someone to do something, all you have to do is give the command – with the right words.

Joe Vitale popularized the art of written persuasion with his best-selling book, “Hypnotic Writing.” Let’s look at another example. Read the following sentence: “I wonder how quickly you are going to buy this product.” This seems like a harmless statement, but do you really know its impact? The person who reads it might consciously think it is a simple comment. But watch closely -- that sentence contains the embedded command:

" .. you are going to buy this product." The bold print plays a role in how effectively that command gets communicated. A person will respond to a sub-section of a written sentence as a command, and will follow the command without realizing it consciously. Are you beginning to see how powerful this is? Have you noticed yet that there's much more to words than you were taught in all those how-to courses on writing you ever bought? Are you curious to learn more? Well, you can continue to do just that. Fortunately, it’s easy to just keep reading on... If you were to ask me what the single most important skill is in business, that if you mastered it would single handedly account for more business than any other skill, I would tell you, without a doubt -- the ability to influence people. Think of what you could do if you could increase your ability to ethically influence others, naturally, without sounding like you’re making a sales pitch. How much more money and success could you create with that skill? Is This Shameless Manipulation? Of course it is. But maybe we should take a good look at our definition of manipulation. When we enter a negotiation with another company or person, we have a specific outcome that we want to achieve. As the negotiation progresses, we use our logic and various strategies to attempt to move the negotiation closer to our desired outcome. When we accomplish that, we say the negotiations were successful. Since manipulation is defined as attempting to consciously guide events to a specific resolution, then the use of written persuasion strategies is indeed manipulative. But then again, so are all normal business negotiations. The ethical use of influence in the right hands could be extremely powerful. In the wrong hands, it could be lethal. Let me ask you -- if you were a golf enthusiast, and you had the opportunity to have Tiger Woods give you one-on-one personal coaching, how much will your golf game improve as a result? Tremendously, wouldn’t you think? Now imagine you had the opportunity to have Joe Vitale, the grand master of hypnotic writing and the science of persuasion, give you one-on-one personal coaching, how much will your business improve as a result? How much will your life change? Massively, wouldn’t you think?"

Mark's letter goes on from there. I just wanted to show you a few key paragraphs from it to make a few key points. * First, did you notice how involving the letter is? All those questions keep you interested, involved, and stuck to the page. Questions are a powerful hypnotic tool, don't you agree? * Second, did you notice that Mark's point---that the questions he asked actually DO make you do the thing being asked---works? In other words, whenever you ask a question in your sales letter, people mentally get involved with it and answer it. So if you ask something like, "Do you realize how powerful hypnotic writing is?", you get people thinking "Hypnotic writing is powerful." * Third, did you notice how Mark gets you to imagine a scenario? Whenever you get your readers to mentally see themselves doing what you want them to do, you

move them in the direction you want. It's one of the things you learned from Robert Collier: People think in pictures. Tell them a story so they can see those pictures. Get THEM involved and their emotions are involved. There are other things to learn from Mark's letter. Everything from the personal, one-to-one tone of it, to the tight, short paragraphs, to how it raises an objection a reader may have and then answers it. (While I can't guarantee that Mark's sales letter is still online, you might find it at http://www.hypnoticwriting.com/eclass.htm.) here! Mark's letters, as well as any other great sales letters you find, are all worth intense study. So make that part of your assignment after reading this week's lesson: Go find and study winning sales letters.

ASSIGNMENT:

You guessed it: Write a sales letter! Just review the above lessons, keep the key points in mind, think of your reader, and dash off a letter to sell your product or service. Remember to review it and edit it and polish it to perfection. Also check it against the secret check-list you now have. Ready? Go for it!

RESOURCES:

* For a ten-tip sales letter by me on how to write sales letters, click on http://www.mrfire.com/articles/0028.html here off line! * For sample letters by a master copywriter, click here http://www.copycoach.com/samples.htm here off line! * One of the strongest sales letters I've ever seen was written by Mark Joyner for one of my books. Visit http://www.HypnoticWriting.com

here off line ! * Another powerful sales letter, also by the amazing Mark Joyner, is at http://www.trashproofnewsrelease.com/. This letter makes use of software tricks to personalize the letter for each viewer. Brilliant!

Here off line!

* Get and read "THE ULTIMATE SALES LETTER" by Dan Kennedy. This book takes you by the hand through the 28 steps Dan uses to write super-powerful sales letters (and ads). He routinely get paid $5,000.00 to $15,000.00 as a copywriter, so his System is proven, valuable and effective. Best of all, with this book by your side, you can write powerful letters for your products or services - even if you think you can't write a grocery list. This is a "must have tool" you will use constantly, not a book to just read. Get it at www.amazon.com or at http://www.kennedysite.com/index.html. * Here are Joe Sugarman's books with ordering information: Vol. 1: "Advertising Secrets of the Written Word" (GET THIS ONE!) Vol. 2: "Marketing Secrets of a Mail Order Maverick" Vol. 3: "Television Secrets for Marketing Success" $39.95 each plus $5 shipping from 1-800-323-6400 or FAX (702) 597-2002 or write to JS&A Group, Inc., 3350 Palms Center Drive, Las Vegas, NV 89103.

Note: You can get the online version of "Advertising Secrets of the Written Word" when you order Psychological Triggers online for $27. * For a good quick tip sheet on writing sales letters, visit http://www.smartbiz.com/sbs/arts/dun18.htm

* Discover four approaches to writing sales letters at http://www.mapnp.org/library/writing/letters.htm

Here off line! * For a great short article on how to write sales letters, click on http://www.office.com/global/tools/frameset?parameter=ob_tools/ sales/sales_letters.html?id=0689 * For free articles on copywriting by the man who inspired me to become a copywriter, visit http://www.bly.com. * For an unusual e-book from China on how to write with emotion, visit http://www.mrchange.com. * A good book on persuasion is "Get Anyone To Do Anything" by David Lieberman. While he doesn't talk about writing, his psychological secrets are applicable to writing letters and ads. Get it at www.amazon.com * There is no "one way" to write sales letters or anything else. For that reason, absorb all the information you can. One great course on copywriting is from David Garfinkel. Visit www.killercopytactics.com. * I'm told the "The Robert Collier Letter Book" IS available as an audio and printed work from Carl Galletti. Click here to order it - http://www.twipress.com/MarketingResources/GallettiBooks/copy.htm

SECTION TWO: Hypnotic News Releases and the Power of the Media to Make You Rich

“I am indebted to the press of the United States for almost every dollar which I possess..." -- P.T. Barnum, 1891

Ch. 9: How to Get Rich and Famous With One Sheet of Paper and a Mermaid

I'm not exaggerating. You CAN become rich and famous with any product or service---or even without them!---IF you follow the guidelines on how to get free publicity which I'm about to reveal to you. And all it takes is a single sheet of paper! Want proof? Here's what Dr. Scott Lewis told me--- "Joe Vitale is a publicity master! With just one BRILLIANT press release he wrote for me, I landed an appearance on THE VIEW within 72 hours! I've since gone on to use his hypnotic writing techniques to write my own press releases and have appeared on INSIDE EDITION, EXTRA, FOX NEWS CHANNEL and many other top shows. This is one of the best investments I've ever made and easily worth 10X the price I paid!" Whew! Is that a strong endorsement for "Hypnotic Writing" or what? And the really good news is that you are about to learn how to get that type of fantastic publicity for yourself or your clients! In this section I'll also include how to come up with news angles as well as where to send your releases once you have written them. AND I will discuss the little known Harry Reichenbach tactic for getting into the news. (!) Ready?

HOW TO GET PUBLICITY WITHOUT A MERMAID A year or so ago I wrote a news release that helped make Jeff DeLong---barely 28 years old---wealthy. The headline read: 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover (or anyone else); Unusual cards don't greet, say Hit The Streets Paul Krupin of the news bureau sent it out by fax and email. As a result, Jeff did twenty radio interviews the day his release hit. The Associated Press picked up the story at least twice and spread the word to the media nationally. The number of times the story was reprinted is impossible to tally. But as a direct result, Jeff's website sales at blasted to $20,000 a week. (A week!) What made his news release so successful? 1. There was news here. I didn't have to dig too hard to see that Jeff's greeting cards were newsworthy in and of themselves. (You send his c-ya cards out when you end relationships.) Too many people send out news releases without any news. They are thinly disguised ads. Editors hate ads. They want NEWS. 2. We tied it to current news. Valentine's Day was right around the corner. While Jeff didn't want to tie his release to that event, I knew that doing so would cause the media to grab his release. It helped make his news relevant. Whenever you can tie your product or service to existing news, you up the odds in being used by the media. 3. We distributed the release to select media. Paul Krupin hand picked a list of media contacts. What you send out has to match the interests of those receiving it. Don't send artillery news to an anti-gun newspaper. You can get publicity for virtually any product or service. The media is desperate for news. Provide it and they'll advertise your business.

But how do you find the right news angle? I describe three ways for getting publicity in my new audiotape program for Nightingale-Conant, called "The Power of Outrageous Marketing." (To order it, call 1-800-525-9000 or visit http://www.nightingale.com.) In short, they are: (1) Have news, (2) invent news, or (3) tie your business to current news. Jeff's release was an example of one and three. (His cards were news, and we tied it to Valentine's Day, which was current news.) Here's an example of number two: Inventing news. When Barry Michaels in Australia hired me to write a release for his clothing store at , I had to hunt to find the news angle. I talked to him and learned that because he was getting bogus orders online, he started calling virtually everyone who contacted him. This turned out to be a breakthrough. Customers were in awe that a retailer in Australia would call them. Not only did Barry stop the bogus orders, but he increased his sales with this extra personal service. So I wrote a news release with this headline: Retailer Finds Way to Turn Bogus Orders Into Profit; Australia teaches the globe how to make money online

Ch. 10: A Reporter’s Tip and an Outrageous Insight

How do you get in the news? According to reporter Dennis Stauffer, in his 1994 book "MediaSmart: How to Handle A Reporter" (available through http://www.amazon.com), it works like this: "A news story is supposed to be true, but otherwise the criteria for what makes a good story are the same as in fiction. We look for strong characters (newsmakers), good dialogue (soundbites/quotations), and something novel and dramatic to tell (scandal/disaster/victory). We strive to somehow touch our audience by relating things in personal terms, and we try to present it in a way that will attract and hold someone's attention." But that’s not all... Let's learn something from TV that you can add to your websites and/or to your news releases... Are you adding a little outrageous creativity to your website to pull in more sales? A little spin can turn a profit. For example, cooking is cooking. But the programmers behind the cable TV Food Network know how to add zip to get viewers. Consider these titles: "Two Fat Ladies" is, well, two fat ladies who travel around on a motorcycle with a sidecar and show you how to cook. "Door Knock Dinners" knocks on some unsuspecting person's door, with a chef and camera crew, and says we're here to cook a gourmet meal for you and your family using only what is in your refrigerator, pantry, freezer, etc. This is all aired live. And "Iron Chef" is a competition from Japan with interpreters. The iron chefs (4 of them) are the top chefs of Japan. Their chefs are brought into the "Kitchen Stadium" to compete with the iron chef of their choice. It's dramatic, theatrical, and beautiful to watch. Now consider: All of these popular TV shows are simply cooking shows. No big deal. But add a little outrageousness and you suddenly have something fun, different, and well worth watching. How can you do the same for YOUR business? If P.T. Barnum ran your business, how would he make it fun? What you want to do is create a fun website that makes people WANT to visit it, talk about it, and then, in the end, buy whatever you are selling. That's ALSO how you create hypnotic news releases. I’ll explain what I mean in the next chapter...

Ch. 11: Harry Reichenbach’s Publicity Secret and the Loop-Hole in People’s Minds

Harry Reichenbach was a turn of the century publicist. He pulled some outrageous publicity stunts during the early days of silent movies and then talkies. He even helped stop World War I with a publicity stunt involving toilet paper. (I explain the story in my best-selling audio program for Nightingale-Conant, "The Power of Outrageous Marketing! And yes, this is an embedded command to get you to buy my program!) Harry's secret was to create bizarre events to capture news attention. He was clearly a disciple of P.T. Barnum. One time Harry had an unknown movie star fill his pockets with pennies. He also made sure those pockets had holes in them. Harry and the struggling actor then walked down the streets of Hollywood, headed for a director's home.

When they got there, the director looked out his window and was stunned to see a true mob of people following Harry and the actor. The director could do nothing but assume the actor was so popular, people followed him everywhere. The director hired the unemployed actor on the spot. Truth was, it was all a stunt to get news. In the days of the 1920s, when pennies were worth picking up, it was easy to get a crowd to follow you by letting pennies drop behind your steps. Today you might have to let hundred dollar bills fall out of your pants. But the point is the same: You have to think like Harry Reichenbach to get media attention these days. Even if you are simply promoting a book, or a new toy, or a service, you have to put a spin to it. You have to encase it in a larger story. You have to somehow, someway, make it NEWS. When you do, you've taken first step to creating a hypnotic news release.

HARRY'S REAL SECRET Harry was successful in getting press coverage for his clients because he was able to create events that grabbed our minds. You see, people want to be led. They seek something to fill their hours. They turn to television, radio, newspapers, and other media in a frustrated quest to engage their minds with something of value, something different, something unusual. This is the loop-hole in the public's mind where you can engage them hypnotically. And this is something very few people know. This will take some explaining. So let me call in my friend Blair Warren, a writer, TV producer, and persuasion expert in San Antonio, Texas. Blair has written a book so powerful, he is afraid to release it to the public. He thinks it may fall into the wrong hands and give real power to the wrong people. With Blair's kind permission, here is an excerpt from his "The Forbidden Keys to Persuasion: Book 1: Ulterior Motives and the Art of Engagement:" (The following is Copyright 2000 by Blair Warren and used here with his permission. Please do not reproduce it.)

"In college I became fascinated with applied psychology. I was eager to learn everything I could about human nature. While my classmates focused on learning enough to pass our exams, I listened for ideas I could put to use immediately. One topic that caught my interest was Abraham Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. In it, Maslow placed human needs into five sequential categories: 1. Physiological needs (food, shelter, etc.) 2. Safety/security needs (protection of one's person, family and possessions, etc.) 3. Social needs (love, sex, friendships, etc.) 4. Self needs (self-respect, self-confidence, etc.) 5. Self-actualizing needs (personal growth, fulfilling of one's purpose, etc.)

In short, Maslow argued that people's needs in one category must be met before they can turn their attention to the next. This idea fascinated me, but understanding it had little impact on my ability to persuade others. While a therapist may have the time and skill required to apply it to a patient, it was too complicated for a lay person to put to practical use. Still, I had a sense that it held a very powerful, very practical principle, if I could only grasp it. In time, I did. I came to believe there was a more basic "need" that lay behind those Maslow identified. But my

"discovery" was anything but new. Hitler was well aware of this need and in filling it for his followers, mesmerized a nation, slaughtered millions, and terrorized the world. Marshall Applewhite and Jim Jones used it to seize control of their followers and lead them to their deaths. And all around us, political and race-based organizations use it to whip their people into hate-filled frenzies. What these people, and all the master manipulators before them, know, is that people have a desperate need for mental engagement; to have their attention captured, focused and intensified. While mental engagement doesn't appear on Maslow's scale and may not replace those needs he identified, it can override them. Just as physiological needs take precedence over safety/security needs, the need for mental engagement can override our physiological needs, if only for a while. We can be literally starving and searching for food, when something comes along, distracts us, and before we know it, hours have passed without any sensation of hunger. We can be in severe pain and without our being aware of it, something else comes along and captures our attention and the pain is gone. We've all experienced situations like these, yet upon reflection they don't make much sense. Why would we put off something important like eating or seeking medical attention, for something less important? Because we don't have any choice. The body may send signals to the brain indicating its needs, but the mind doesn't have to pay attention to them. What the mind must do though, is pay attention to something. And without proper mental discipline, the mind will focus on the most appealing option before it.

Every moment of every day, we want to be engaged in something. It often doesn't matter what it is as long as it can gain and maintain our attention. We seek entertainment, conversation, confrontation. We do crossword puzzles, work in the garden, listen to music. We cook, we clean, we rearrange. Even when we're exhausted and want to relax, we simply engage in something else. We swim, we go to amusement parks and we meditate. All this in an effort to alleviate the one thing few people can endure: Boredom. The need for mental engagement is so fundamental that few even recognize it. But it's always there, lurking just behind our awareness, looking for something to "lock onto." This is why many of us are so easily distracted. Unless our current thoughts or activities are sufficiently engaging, the next best thing that comes along with pull us away, often without us even realizing it. And since it's through engagement that we experience and through experience that we are changed, those who engage us hold the keys to our hearts and minds, and from there, our actions."

Blair's words of wisdom are deep. Chew on them. What I think he is pointing out is that if you can create an event--- a news story---that engages the public's mind, then you will have succeeded at grabbing the media and hypnotizing all of them into printing and airing your news. And keep in mind that the phrase "an event" doesn't mean some expensive, orchestrated demonstration. You can create an event by simply having a news angle that engages an editor's mind. (You'll see several news releases with unique news angles shortly). The idea is to think of ways to grab attention. They don't have to be elaborate, they just have to be--as Blair would say--- engaging. This was Harry Reichenbach's secret. And this is true power. Use it wisely.

Ch. 12: Hidden Selling: The Ultimate Secret to Controlling the Public Mind

You have to get out of your ego and into the "public mind" to be able to use Blair and Harry's secret. So let's look at websites for a moment and see if we can apply a lesson from that area to the world of publicity. I think the number one problem with people selling products on their websites is they can't get out of their need to make a sale. In other words, they are so focused on selling, they don't spend any time serving. In order to get news coverage, or to get people to visit and stay at your site (or to do anything else you want), you need to think of THEM. I obey one main rule when writing copy for the online world: Get out of my ego and into my reader's ego. It's a basic marketing truth that shouldn't be violated anywhere. Yet it's violated every day online. Let me explain. One day I received the following email: Dear Mr. Vitale, Your name was mentioned on a site that I came upon while I was looking for informational material to market on the Internet. Can you PLEASE, give me some feedback on this. The site is www.Internetpowertools.com/d.cgi?ebookprofits-pw10031 Thank you for you time. I took a quick peak at his site. If you did, too, you saw that his site is a sales letter. There is nothing in that headline to appeal to your ego in a way that is acceptable online.

Off-line that sort of hard-sell headline might work. On-line it won't. Why? Because it is too sales oriented. It looks and reads too much like an ad. If you think of your reader's ego, you wouldn't post something so heavy-handed online. Instead, you would give them information they want. Information they can use. Think of it this way: Write your website copy as if you are writing a how-to booklet or a news release. Give facts. Give details. Give specifics. I might rather write this fellow's website as a special report on the rise of e-books in the new millennium. I might even give pointers on how to write your own e-books. In short, get out of your ego and into your visitor's ego. Appeal to their interests and they will eventually show interest in yours. THAT's how you create hypnotic news releases. Let's look at another example. Hello Mr. Fire, I am not a copy writer but I am trying to write a copy that sells my information product. Can you please check out my website and tell me what's wrong with the copy I have now. www.inetstart.com Thank you for your time. Did you take a look at his site? Same problem as the one before it. It's written by a person trying to make a sale. That means the copywriter was writing to his own ego, not to mine or yours. Again, to transform this or any other website, think of what your READER wants to see, not what you want to sell. Think about it. Don't you care more about what interests you, than what interests me? I might rewrite this fellow's website by writing a news release or a special report on "The Top 10 New Ways to Make Money Online." I'd research the top ways, too, list them, explain them, and make what he wants to sell just one of the new ways to make money online.

It's the traditional way to sell anything with a news release: Simply plug your product or service within a story of genuine news.

Are there any examples of websites using this basic copywriting principle? Of course. But they aren't easy to find. Obvious examples are www.ebay.com and www.amazon.com. Both focus on YOU. When you look at ebay or amazon, for example, you don't detect an ego behind the sites. Instead, you can easily look around for what interests YOU. Again, get out of your ego and into your reader's ego. I just took a moment from writing this chapter to browse some random sites. I went to www.etour.com and let it bring websites to me based on what I told it I was interested in. It's a marvelous tool. Sites I saw were one on new music releases. No ego here. This had a search engine for me to type in my favorite artist or style of music. Another site was on how to give CPR. Never know when it may be needed. Yet another site taught me how things operated. Type in anything, like engine or website, and an article at the site revealed how an engine, or website, works. Again, all useful information. No ego. No selling. Which leads to the question: How does anyone make any money online when they have to create ego-less websites that focus on the visitor and do little or no selling? The answer is this: It's called Hidden Selling. It's what all good publicity people or "cause public relations" people do. They engage you in something you want to know about and sell you after the fact. It's the soft sell. It's what Hallmark Cards does when they fund a movie. You don't tune in to watch their commercials. You tune in to watch the movie they sponsored. As you do, you are also fed the commercials. This is very hypnotic. Good websites do the same. They offer you want you want, and sell you quietly, by focusing on serving you, not selling you. (Note: See my article at http://www.mrfire.com/articles/0033.html for more explanation of how this "Hidden Selling" concept works.) This whole topic may need more space than what I have here to fully explain. The bottom line for me is this: You'll create better copy on your websites if you focus on your visitor's ego, not yours. Think of serving them, not selling them, and ironically, you will end up selling them. This works with news editors, as well. If you want to woo them, think of SERVING THEM, not selling them. They want news, not ads. They are not all that different from the people going to websites: They are looking for the unusual, the curious, the odd: They are looking for NEWS

Ch. 13: How Watching TV can Get You a Million Dollars in Free Publicity

The tool you'll use to get publicity for yourself is simply one sheet of paper: A news release. A news release is what it says: A release of news. But few people writing them seem to understand that fact. Instead, they are sending out ads and calling them news. Editors get hundreds to thousands of news releases every day. (!) If yours is a thinly disguised ad, yours will get trashed. So, how do you stay out of the trash can? Let’s take it one step at a time...

THE HEADLINE Headlines can make or break your chances to get media attention. Re-read the headlines I came up with for Jeff, Barry, and myself in an earlier chapter. Aren't they all catchy? Don't they all signal news? Want a tip on how to write headlines for YOUR news releases? Listen to the commercials that try to get you to watch the TV news. You'll hear short teaser phrases such as, "Can your eyes be healed in 45 seconds?" or "Can this dog save your life?" Another I heard was, "Meet the man who committed the crime that shocked our nation!" Those teases are headlines! And they are very hypnotic! In other words, while you watch TV tonight, note how the teasers during the commercials lure you into watching the news. What they are doing is hooking you with spoken headlines. You can follow the same principle when writing news releases. This works for ALL the media and is used by everyone from Oprah to Larry King to your local favorite television news station. Start to think like a reporter and generate headlines for news releases for your (let's say) e-book. Ask questions such as -- * What's the news in your ebook? * What's the news about you? * How does your book affect readers? * The world? * Your neighborhood? Fish for the news and then turn that news into a one-page hard-hitting news (and news only) release. This will all make more sense as you can continue with the next chapter and review the examples to follow. So let's not stop here!

Ch. 14: THE STRUCTURE OF A Hypnotic NEWS RELEASE

Use your business letterhead. If you don't have letterhead, don't worry about it. What the editor cares about is your news, not you. A letterhead just adds some credibility. Under it, on either the left or right, type the phrase "NEWS RELEASE." Under that, type the name of a contact person (which can be you) and your phone number. On the top of the page, on the opposite side, write the words "FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE." In the center of the page, maybe one-third down from the top, type a headline. Remember to make this sentence newsworthy. A few lines below that, begin your release. Though it is okay to type the release single-spaced, editors are used to seeing it typed double-spaced. Keep in mind that a release is a NEWS source. Give your facts: who, what, when, where, how and why. And present them in order of importance. Your following paragraphs should fill in details and complete the news story. At the very end, give your name and address and say "For More Information Call (your number)."

HOW I WRITE A NEWS RELEASE Now let's make all of this even clearer: When someone hands me a book to promote, or any other product, I look for the "story" that it fits into. In other words, I don't want to write a press release to promote "a book" as that usually isn't much news, but I probe to learn how the book fits into a larger picture. This is how I create hypnotic writing. For example, let's talk about the fellow who got a call from a reporter eight minutes after he faxed out my release. His book is called "Fun Projects with Wooden Pallets." If I were like most publishers, I might whip up a release saying the book was now out and say a little about it. But I don't think that's very powerful. I prefer a double-whammy approach, which I achieve by combining the "new book" release with a "feature story" approach. After some thought I came up with the following headline: New Ways to Make furniture---and more---from Scrap Note how that headline has a more "news feel" to it? It doesn't even mention the book. That, to me, isn't as important as what the book helps you do. In advertising we talk about features and benefits. The book is a feature; what you can do as a result of having the book is the benefit. I focused on the benefit. The next thing I looked for was a killer opening line. I believe that the first line in your feature news release should be a grabber. If you don't hook the editors there, they probably won't go on to the rest of your release. It's worth mentioning right here that your editors will decide to read your release---or not---based on your headline. If it intrigues them, they'll read on. But the next potential stopping point for them is your first line. In the case of the above client, my first line was this: "You know those wooden pallets stacked up in and behind many businesses?" That's an opening line that I still love. Why? It gets the reader nodding his or her head, saying "yes" internally, and puts them in a receptive mood. It also pulls the reader into the next paragraph. It makes you ask, "What about those pallets anyway?" From there I created a story about how to use the pallets to create furniture---the news---and I quoted from the book and the authors, thereby plugging the book within the context of the feature story. Do you see the difference? Rather than focusing on the book, I focused on the story and mentioned the book within the story. Here's the entire release:

News Article from Awareness News Service Contact: Joe Vitale Phone: 281-999-1110 For Immediate Release New Ways to Make Furniture--and More--from Scrap (Silsbee, Texas. September 1, 1995) -- You know those wooden pallets stacked up in and behind many businesses? According to "Fun Projects Using Wooden Pallets," ($14.95 postage paid from Applecart Press, PO Box 612, Silsbee, TX 77656) a 115-page, fully illustrated new book by Don and Peggy Crissey of Silsbee, Texas, you can pick up those pallets, usually for no charge, and turn them into over a hundred easy, practical, and fun home projects, such as beds, chairs, fences, planters, toys, steps, and tables, to name just a few of their uses.

"There are over 460 million pallets made each year in this country," says Don Crissey, an engineer with over 20 years of experience in recycling everything from government surplus paints to ocean cargo containers. Crissey adds that 53 percent of these pallets are used once and then discarded. "What people don't realize is that half of the expensive hardwood cut down goes into making these pallets," explains Crissey. "That means there's some very fine and expensive wood in those pallets---wood you can use to make some beautiful furniture." According to Don and his wife Peggy, a former retail shoe store display designer, a single pallet can fit in the trunk of most cars, and each pallet can be easily turned into any of over a hundred simple, fun, and practical do-it-yourself home projects. "We spent three years picking up pallets and using the wood," said Don Crissey. "I've made everything we describe in the book, from benches to beds to utility cabinets. Our front lawn has planters, steps, and chairs sitting on it, and no one ever realizes they were all made from pallets!" "Besides the joy of making these projects," adds Peggy Crissey, "It feels good to know you are doing your part to be earth friendly." For a free sample of directions on how to make one project from a wooden pallet, send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to Don and Peggy Crissey, Applecart Press, PO Box 612, Silsbee, TX 77656. To order the new book, "Fun Projects Using Wooden Pallets," by Don and Peggy Crissey, send a check or money-order for $14.95 (postage paid) to Applecart Press, PO Box 612, Silsbee, TX 77656. -- end –

Ch. 15: More examples of Hypnotic News Releases You Can Model

Another time an author called me about a book she had written on lawyer abuse. I liked her and the book, but had to search to find a way to create a feature release that I could plug the book into. After a few days I came up with the following headline:

Wife, Mother, Business Woman Hauls Her Lawyers to Court---and Wins! Reveals How to Prevent "Lawyer Abuse" in Surprising New Book

I like this headline because it sums up the entire release in just a couple of lines. The "wife, mother, business woman" suggests an unusual bit of news; this woman isn't just a housewife, but is living out several roles. "Hauls her lawyers to court" is obviously attention grabbing news. "And wins!" is the punchline. My subtitle, or headline under the headline, is my attempt to build even more enthusiasm for the feature release. My next effort was to come up with a terrific opening line. I read through the pile of background material the author had sent me and came across a line that I turned into a lead I doubt few could read and forget. I wrote: "Janice Tucker Hedlund wonders why juries are locked up at night and lawyers get to go home." I then went on and wrote a release that told her story and plugged her book in the process. Again, I didn't focus on her book. I focused on the news and used the book for my quotes. This was a less "advertising oriented" approach to getting the editors attention. Since a common complaint among editors is that releases too often tend to look like thinly disguised ads, I wanted my release to look -- and actually be -- news. Now here's the entire release:

NEWS from Awareness News Service Contact: Joe Vitale Phone: 281-999-1110 For Immediate Release Wife, Mother, Business Woman Hauls Her Lawyers to Court---and Wins! Reveals How to Prevent "Lawyer Abuse" in Surprising New Book (Laguna Beach, CA, July 7, 1995) Janice Tucker Hedlund wonders why juries are locked up at night and lawyers get to go home. "My husband and I spent eight years embroiled in lawsuits," Hedlund writes in her new book, "Help! I've Hired a Lawyer!" ($14.95 from EmptyPockets Ventures, 412 North Coast Highway #380, Laguna Beach, CA 92651). "The last three of those years were spent suing our own attorneys." After losing millions of dollars in legal fees on a series of twenty lawyers who weren't doing their jobs, Hedlund decided to fight back. She took three lawyers to court for legal malpractice, and won. "Stay out of the court room," warns Hedlund, a Laguna Beach wife, mother, and business woman. But she adds that it may be impossible for everyone these days. "This country is run by lawyers. The government offices are filled with them. The major portion of the President's cabinet is made of attorneys. And almost every Congressman and Senator has a law degree." Hedlund wrote her just published book, the first in a series of planned self-help titles, to help others from being abused in court. She calls her book "the first insider's guide on how to hire, deal with, fire and even sue a lawyer!" Among her suggestions for checking out an attorney are: 1. Trust your gut. Hedlund says attorneys are taught to wear symbols of success, such as having a Mercedes-Benz, dozens of legal assistants, and a high rise office. "But when you ask for his client list and it can't be located, perhaps he's not as successful as you think or he's lost his clients to an over-enthusiasm for Ferraris." 2. Watch him perform. Hedlund suggests you attend a court room when your prospective attorney is about to appear. "Observe if the judge admonishes him for failure to show up last week, or for not presenting properly presented drafted motions or other problems." 3. Be cautious of retainers. "When the attorneys I hired saw me coming it had to have been Champagne City for them," Hedlund writes in "Help! I've Hired a Lawyer!" "I handed over retainers that could keep a family of four eating for years." Be sure you completely understand what you are asked to pay, and what you can expect to receive. 4. Ask for file availability. Hedlund says you should always have the right to walk in at any time and request to see your file. She once found notes in her files from her attorney saying she was "a real pain in the ass!" and another inviting an opponent to an expensive club at Hedlund's expense. These notes led to Hedlund suing her own lawyers. "Help! I've Hired a Lawyer!" by Janice Tucker Hedlund, is available for $14.95 from EmptyPockets Ventures, 412 North Coast Highway #380, Laguna Beach, CA 92651. The 149-page paperback offers a wealth of information for readers from all walks of life, lawyers included. It offers strategies, tips, tactics, and inside information on how to work with attorneys in a wide variety of situations.

-end-

Next, let me show you the example of one more release for yet another author.

Mike Knox wrote a riveting book on kids in street gangs. While the book is excellent, I knew I couldn't write a release on just it. I needed a bigger story. And since Knox hired me to write a release a month for three months, I needed three terrific stories. What I did was read his book and look for the news. After an hour I came up with the following headline: Ex-Cop Reveals the 3 "Big Lies" that Pull Kids into Street Gangs Tells How Parents and Schools Can Stop It in New Book There's a chapter in Knox's book where he talks about the three lies that lead kids into gangs. I made that my focus, hence the headline. The sub-headline was my way of letting editors know a little more information about the book. As for my first line, here's what I wrote: " After fifteen years on the Houston Police Department, Mike Knox had seen enough about kids in street gangs to write a book. And he did just that." This sounds interesting. You have a cop with a lot of experience in a big city. It suggests he has a story to tell (as he "had seen enough"), and it has universal appeal, as it's about kids. Here's the entire release:

NEWS from Awareness News Service Contact: Joe Vitale Phone: 281-999-1110 Date: August 10, 1995 For September 1 Release Ex-Cop Reveals the 3 "Big Lies" that Pull Kids into Street Gangs Tells How Parents and Schools Can Stop It in New Book (Houston, September 1, 1995) After fifteen years on the Houston Police Department, Mike Knox had seen enough about kids in street gangs to write a book. And he did just that. "The police officer is the last and weakest link in this ugly web of gangs and juvenile crime," explains Knox, now a popular speaker on the subject of gang prevention and a special trainer to the police. "Parents and school officials have to wake up and take action now, before it's too late." Knox helped create the Houston Police Department's Westside Command Divisional Gang Unit in 1988. He has taught gang recognition and investigation at the Houston Police Academy, University of Houston, and the Houston Drug Enforcement Agency. He says youths are being drawn into gangs in an almost natural process. He wrote his new book to help blow the whistle on this process. "There are three big lies which pull kids into street gangs," says Knox in his eye-opening new book, "Gangsta in the House" (now at book stores, or $12.95 from Momentum Books, 6964 Crooks Road, Troy, MI 48098).

Lie #1: The gang will provide protection to the member. "Children are increasingly concerned about their safety in the community and in the school," writes Knox in "Gangsta in the House." He adds that many kids will choose to join the largest and toughest gangs simply because they are perceived as the safest. Lie #2: Membership will garner the respect of the community. "Typically gang members will mistake fear for respect," writes Knox. He says that kids don't know the difference, but seek the recognition of being in a gang and being feared. Lie #3: The gang will become a family. Knox says this is an illusion because gang members don't even trust their own friends. One of the reasons they use street names or monikers is so each remains anonymous. What can adults do to help? "Ultimately the parents' responsibility in this safety net is to reteach the child how to make good friends," writes Knox. "They must be willing to get back into their child's life and reteach him about

respect, friendship, and responsibility." Knox's book, "Gangsta in the House," takes readers directly into the world of gangs, and begins with a riveting and uncomfortable description of a fictional drive-by shooting. The book is written in a conversational style and reveals what gangs are all about, why boys as well as girls are drawn into them, and what parents, teachers, and the legal system can do about them. -- end --

GIVE FREE TIPS You might note that in the above examples, I gave truly helpful information that came from the books I wanted to promote. In other words, the first one offered a free plan to build something from a pallet, the second gave tips on working with lawyers, and the last revealed some myths about gangs. This is "giving to get." The press loves it. When I wrote a news release for my client to help promote his trilogy of videos on the Las Vegas Showgirl's Diet and Workout, we included the girls' dieting tips. That free information gave us national publicity when the GLOBE ran the story---and Barbara Walters mentioned it on national television! QUIZ: ANOTHER EXAMPLE Read the following and see if you can determine why this news release is true news: ************************************************************************ Contact: Melissa Heller Phone: (941) 467-8771 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Who’s going to crack next? How to tell if you or someone you love is about to snap Stress at work, home, and even at play is causing more people to crack, or mentally breakdown, than ever before. The problem is leading to a staggering increase of murder, suicide, road rage, family abuse, drug abuse, unhappiness, and much more. But according to a mental health expert, there is now a way to detect if you or someone you love is about to crack. “If you can spot the person about to mentally snap, you can help them with treatment,” says Dr. Leland Heller, a Florida family physician, mental health expert, and author of the new book, “Biological Unhappiness” (Dyslimbia Press, 1999). Dr. Heller says some obvious signs of latent snapping are when a person begins saying things like, “I don't want to live, There's no point to living, Life has no purpose, I'm worthless, There's no point in trying, or Everyone seems to have it in for me.” He adds that anyone talking about suicide and/or homicide, who performs self-mutilation, who talks about violence, hate, or death, or who demonstrates road rage is also showing signs of snapping. “Snapping is part of a biologically based problem that is treatable,” explains Dr. Heller. “The trick is to spot someone before they snap.” Dr. Heller has a free screening test to find out if a person is about to snap located online at http://www.biologicalunhappiness.com. The test helps determine if someone has any of a variety of disorders, from Attention Deficit Disorder or Bipolar Disorder, to Borderline Personality Disorder or Generalized Anxiety Disorder, all of which can

lead to snapping, and all are treatable. “If we catch the problems now, we can help stop more people from snapping,” says Dr. Heller. “No one has to suffer. No one has to kill or be killed.” Editors: For a review copy of the book, “Biological Unhappiness,” more information, or to interview the author, call (941) 467-8771. -end- MORE SAMPLES You can see samples of news releases online every day. * Visit http://www.PRWeb.com and look around. * Also take a peek at -- http://www.publicityforum.com The New Publicity Forum http://dcnewswire.com/ Direct Contact News Wire

Ch. 16: HOW TO SEND OUT YOUR NEWS

Sending out your hypnotic news release is a snap to do, and not as expensive as you may fear. You can send the release by email for under $100. You can FAX it to editors for twenty-five cents a hit. I use Paul Krupin's service at http://www.imediafax.com. He can FAX or email your release to whoever you want, as well as help you determine who should receive it. I've known Paul for years now. He is so honest that he won't send out any release if he feels it won't get any replies. You can email him at dircon@owt.com. Other Press Release Resources: http://www.gebbieinc.com http://www.baconsinfo.com http://www.imediafax.com http://www.srds.com Press Release Distribution Services: http://www.PRWeb.com http://www.SoonToBeReleased.com http://www1.internetwire.com http://www.prnewswire.com http://www.newsbureau.com http://www.urlwire.com http://www.businesswire.com http://www.i-wire.com http://www.publicitylink.com

ASSIGNMENT:

As you might guess, I want you to write a news release. Just review the above lesson, pretend you are a reporter, and see what news angle you can find for yourself. Remember to focus on NEWS, not selling. You want to plug your product or service within the body of the news release and not make your product or service the focus.

RESOURCES:

"Sixty Second Secrets" is a free e-newsletter by Susan Harrow dedicated to bringing you innovative ideas for keeping your name in the news. I always find something of value in this one. Subscribe by sending e-mail to harrowcom@prsecrets.com If you're at all interested in publicity and public relations-type marketing, then turn off your phone and prepare to spend HOURS at the following website. From public relations to marketing, business communications to Internet PR, there are 23 PR-related subject categories, and 800+ direct links (and growing!) at http://publicrelations.about.com. Whew! Using statistics in news releases gives your release extra power. But where do you get stats? "In regard to stats, a great place on the Net to get any stat is http://www.internetstats.com. You ask a question and a real person will email back sites on the Net that have the statistics." -- Ke